Alien world

Chapter 1684, Section 317: The King of the North Arrives
The Rat King's voice was full of confidence, and Little Small's approving gaze made it even more smug.

At that moment, it felt as smart as its brother.

“That’s it. When you come to the North, it’s just like when the orc father and son go to Free City.” Little Smo continued to guide them. “You can imagine yourself as the orc father and son, and imagine those difficulties as demons, the Macken ratmen, and the destruction of the clan… Only by overcoming these difficulties can you finally reach Free City and enjoy a new life.”

Demon... McKenney's thing... Brother... Liberty City...

The Rat King's eyes flickered. It had been trying very hard to think, but it still couldn't come up with anything. The feeling of having no goal made it restless, and it wanted to destroy something.

At this moment, Little Small's words were like a bucket of ice water poured on him: "Okay, you've thought about so much today, relax and watch 'Tom and Jerry'."

"Okay!"

No rat can resist cats and mice, and the Rat King even imagines Jerry as his older brother—he imagines Jerry's incredibly strong cousin as himself.

As the Rat King obediently watched "Tom and Jerry" like a child magnified a thousand times, Little Small stepped out of the tent.

"How is it?" Maria asked him.

"If I had taught him from a young age, I'm confident I could have developed him into a Freeblade warrior," Little Smo said with some regret. The Rat King's thought process was now fixed, so his ideas were all based on the past, making it difficult to change.

The Rat King's strength was abnormal, just like its appearance. When standing, it reached a height of twenty meters, longer than an adult dragon from head to tail.

The Frost Giant is only about eight or nine meters tall when it grows up, but it's not even as tall as the Rat King's belly.

But this is not a talent; rather, it is a life born from distorted genes, much like a divine aberration.

Maria said that the rat people believed that big was good and many were beautiful, so they reproduced like crazy and considered large size to be beautiful. The rat king was born under this system and held a position in the clan that was similar to a kind of "strange creature".

Before the turmoil, the Rat King was indeed a true king, standing in a tripartite balance of power with the Ratman Elders and Priests. This was because they were favored by the Great Horned Rat and granted wisdom. But after the turmoil, he was nothing more than a brainless brute.

The rescued Rat King is just that kind of creature. With the Great Horned Rat around, it's an invincible battlefield meat grinder. Without the Great Horned Rat, an epic mage can easily toy with it until it dies.

"What if we alter its memory?"

“No. If it’s still an enemy, we can deceive it,” Little Smo refused outright.

Maria could understand Little Smo's persistence—this was the biggest difference between Free City and other ratmen, and even humans.

“I don’t know the Rat King, but I know the Rat People. Even if you instill a lot of principles in it, it won’t be long before it goes back to its old ways after returning to its tribe, and it might even reveal our secrets.”

"Wouldn't that be better?"

Maria was stunned, a strange feeling of betrayal washing over her: "Annan has his eye on McKinney again?!"

……

"That's a really harsh way to put it."

Annan smiled broadly and explained modestly, "I just happened to want the Kings of the North to have a get-together."

Since there was no fighting at the northern passes, the Lawrence and Diatra families decided to set off earlier and arrived in Liberty City three days ahead of schedule.

Annan personally came to the teleportation plaza to pick them up.

"Humph."

The old patriarch seemed even angrier. He snorted and reached out to push Annan away, but instead of moving Annan, he pushed himself and stumbled.

Having consumed so many fruits of original intention, Annan was no longer a mere sorcerer to be manipulated at will.

Annan and the amused old maid quickly went to help him. This time, the old master didn't shake him off, letting Annan support him as they walked towards the embassy. "The old master has always had this bad temper, young master Annan, please don't mind him," the old maid explained softly.

"It's alright, I'm good at comforting the elderly."

The old patriarch and the archbishop, weren't they all completely charmed by him? And the old patriarch was only cold on the outside but warm on the inside—his eagerness to come three days early was proof of that.

"Vivian, what are you saying?" the old patriarch raised his voice.

The old maid readily agreed: "Master, I was lamenting to Young Master Annan that we haven't seen each other for several years."

Older people tend to reminisce. The old patriarch's expression softened considerably, as if he were recalling how he first met Anan five years ago. Hmm... it seems there's not much difference now.

"Didn't Joan come back with you?" Annan looked around at the group behind him.

The old maid said, "She said she found a chance to infiltrate Marshal Galkin's ranks and that she'll do well to give you a surprise."

"Ok."

Who could have imagined that a girl who made a living by "cheating and deceiving" would one day become a warrior?

"Annan, the Diatra family has sent some old acquaintances of yours," the old patriarch said with a tone of amusement.

Annan raised his head and looked in the direction of the Diatra family.

Gemar controlled his gaze, trying not to look around, and took deep breaths. Before he was mentally prepared, Annan appeared in front of him.

“Annan…” Gemar’s expression was complicated.

He thought he had let go, that he could handle things calmly whether Annan held a grudge or not... but in reality, he was far from being able to deal with it calmly. What he saw in Free City with his own eyes was even more awe-inspiring than the news that had been sent back.

"Who are you?" Annan looked up at Gemar with a puzzled expression.

Gemar was stunned, his face suddenly turning bright red. Just as he was burning with embarrassment and at a loss for what to do, Annan suddenly smiled and patted his arm.

"Gema, we fought for quite a while back then, how could I forget? I didn't expect that after so long, you've become such an excellent warrior."

Terma was caught off guard by Annan's combination of intimidation and praise, her face still flushed like that of a teased little boy.

Seeing this, the old patriarch shook his head. He was truly useless. He thought Gema could at least hold on for a while, but in the end, he was manipulated by Annan with just a few words.

"Young Master Annan has changed so much!" the old maid said with a look of doting affection.

The old patriarch proudly raised his head: "Of course, I watched him grow up."

After exchanging a few words to ease the awkwardness of past frictions, Annan said, "You've been so stressed for so long, take this opportunity to relax in Freedom City. Be careful not to get scared, it's much more bustling here than Star Moon Bay was back then."

The two families also brought records that Annan needed, which he gave to Lilith. He guessed that the old patriarch might know some of the secrets about the two expeditions to the far north.

Sure enough, later that evening, the old maid came to Annan and said that the old master had something to say to him.

Annan pushed his wheelchair and arrived at the embassy with his elder sister, where the old patriarch was waiting for them in the living room.

"Annan, why do you want to know about the past?"

"This all started a month ago..."

(End of this chapter)